"F!": My Grungey Seattle Adventure (With My Besty and With Mudhoney)

17: 'In Search Of...'

5:37

I'm on my way back to Harborview for my second visit of the day, alone. Rex drove me to Pike Place Market to get my car earlier, so we've split up. I'm going to find Katjana and some other staff members to talk to, to try and get as many clues as I can to solve Matt Lukin's "disappearance" and hopefully find him. 

In the meantime, Rex is searching for Lukin in West Seattle. He knows the area better than I do, so I sent him there with a brief and very vague list of places to look, along with a brief and very vague description of Lukin's appearance. It's funny because the description I gave mostly consisted of what Lukin was wearing today, and it just occurred to me that he's likely in a hospital gown by now. I'd better text Rex to let him know.

Pulling into the P2 parking lot of Harborview, my stomach tightens with regret. I hate that I'm here. I already spend so much time in hospitals for work, so being here now feels like work. I'm supposed to be on vacation! And Rex and I really need to talk. Why, Holly, WHY the HELL did you agree to do this?!

Lukin, that's why.

But I don't know him as well as Katjana thinks I do, that's for sure. Soon she'll realize how little of a help I can be, and I'll be set free to try and settle things with Rex in peace. To achieve that sense of peace, though, I need to first be sure that Lukin's okay. I guess that's why I'm here.

Katjana greets me with a weary smile and a reminder of how "grateful" she is for my time. 

"Of course," I reply, as if it's all cool although it isn't. Katj nods her head for me to follow her, and we make our way to a nearby elevator.

Inside the elevator, I feel slightly claustrophobic, which is unusual for me. I literally never get claustrophobic; if anything, I'm more agoraphobic. I guess I'm just anxious to admit --or to have Katj find out, rather-- that I don't know jack about Matt Lukin. We'll see what questions I get asked to start.

"So," Katj sighs, her expression turning serious which causes me to stiffen in fear. She notices this. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply almost to cheerily. "This whole situation is just..."

"Yeah, it's so..."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, I wanted to just start by asking: have you found anything since we last talked?"

Dang. The last time we talked was over the phone just about 20 minutes ago; what does she want from me?

"No..." I breathe, "...unfortunately not. Sorry."

Katj doesn't say anything in response, which heightens my nervousness. She is quite a complicated character. If it weren't for the whole Lukin thing, we would have never even tried to get along. She's just so hard to read, so... opaque. And her inviting me here feels like a major red flag to her personality, like I'm afraid she's manipulatively dragging me into a complicated situation.

"So I wanted to bring you here for you to just talk with some of our staff members, see if they've seen anything, and hopefully, by the end of today, you can find someone who will tell us how our patient left the building." 

"Alright. I'd be happy to," I reply untruthfully. The truth is that I'd rather be anywhere else right now, but this is for Lukin, so, you know. 

Katj hands me a thick piece of paper she had been holding in her armpit. "Here is a map of the building. I marked the places I'd like you to visit and find any people who can help, if they're not too busy. I put some of their names right here," she points to a list of about five names on the map's margins. How helpful.